Daniel Sturridge bears no Roy Hodgson grudge over injury problems

Daniel Sturridge has maintained that he has no problem with the England setup despite his Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers publicly blaming Roy Hodgson for the striker's injury issues earlier this season.

Sturridge was subsequently sidelined for five months after picking up an initial thigh problem while on international duty in September, and Rodgers claimed that the national side failed to adhere to his forward's strict training regime.

However, Sturridge has insisted that he has no grudge with the England camp, and claimed that he has a great relationship with everyone connected to the Three Lions, including manager Hodgson.

He told the Daily Mail: "My relationship with the England manager is top class. No worries at all. We speak via text. We speak to each other. We keep in touch.

"Throughout my injury, he kept in touch. I would never blame him for this. Never. Or any of the staff - it was just an unfortunate incident. I have got so much respect and admiration for him and his setup.

"For me, yes, two days' recovery works best but I am not every player. Every player's different. Some like to train on the second day. Some don't. I am used to having second-day recoveries now and when you get used to doing something, you do it. I have had periods with other clubs when I have not had second-day recovery times. So it doesn't make a huge difference."

Sturridge has scored two goals since he returned from the lengthy layoff at the end of January and is expected to be involved when the Reds travel to Swansea City on Monday night.